Lest you think tomorrow that your Catholic co-workers, neighbors, or passersby on the street forgot to wash their face, let me try to explain Ash Wednesday.

Thank you, Jewish neighbors, for letting us borrow yet another of your signs and practices. The Hebrew part of the Bible, what we Christians usually call the Old Testament, refers to ashes as a sign of repentance. In other words, if we want to show ourselves, our friends, and, most importantly, the Lord, that we are sorry for our sins, we cover ourselves with ashes!

What to call it? “Contradictions”? “Paradoxes”? How about “creative tensions”? The latter might be the more descriptive, if a bit stale, term.

Here’s what I’m talking about : During quite a few of the sessions of the Synod on the Family here in Rome, I almost feel as if I’m on a retreat, or a day of recollection. That’s because so many perceptive and enlightening comments arise that get me thinking…

What often intrigues me is that many of the observations seem, at first glance, to be at odds with one another, so I ask myself; “Are we contradicting each other?”…